Dec 5, 2009 | Baby Photos, South Africa, Stories
Even when life is tough, I know God is good. But sometimes it’s really nice to give the update that both are good, at the same time. 🙂 I shared with you recently about how settling into this new place has been tough, and how it had been a greater challenge than I expected.
And many of you have asked how I’m doing and been so encouraging, sent emails with words of encouragement, and you’ve prayed for us and for me, which is a wonderful blessing. I just want to give you an update and say thank you for your prayers. The Lord is answering them.
We have settled in at the church we visited when we first arrived. Although I feel certain it was the Lord’s leading for us to take the time to seek His direction about where He would have us, I am really happy that we’ve settled in at the Every Nation Church in Somerset West. We’re beginning to make some lovely friends there, and it is just such water to our souls to be in fellowship again after feeling like nomadic travellers for so long. (Friends, thank the Lord for your friends and your communities and fellowship! Even if it’s sometimes tough to be in community, it is ALWAYS better than NOT being in community, I am convinced.)
We enjoyed attending a Life Group last night, which was actually a big end-of-year Christmas party, and had lots of laughs playing the Bad Santa Christmas game where you draw numbers and get to steal gifts or choose new ones. And Mark stole my homemade brownies, ate one, and gave them back to the person he stole them from after the game. He’s such a hero hubby!
We are also still getting to know our neighbours, which is lovely. We’re making salsa to bring them today as Christmas gifts since we leave for Bloemfontein on Wednesday. And we are networking with other Christians in the community in really exciting ways…meeting with folks from different churches interested in partnering with Samaritan’s Feet, and speaking with people who know people who know about working as a trust…making shoes…and lots of other things that could make our work here just blossom into a powerful ministry for the Kingdom and the glory of God.
We have even been welcomed by believers we’ve met at the gym, and the warm welcome into the community is such sweet water to our souls. So this is a big thank you, from the bottom of my heart (whatever that expression really means…why the bottom) and perhaps from the bottom of Mark’s heart too, and the Bear’s happy bottom… for your prayers and your encouragement. The Lord answers prayers. He is wonderfully good. And I am thankful for your friendship and support, as sometimes a comment on a blog has been enough to get me through a tough moment, here in sunny South Africa, my home 7,500+ miles away from home.
So here’s the big thanks…
THANKS!!!
(Sorry I can’t figure out how to make it any bigger) And I will give the Bear the big kiss I can’t give each of you…
Dec 2, 2009 | Baby Photos, South Africa, Stories, The Good Word
There are a lot of things I love about the Christmas season. A lot of them have to do with twinkly lights, chilly weather, happy smiley faces at shopping malls, pretty window displays, and peppermint mochas at Starbucks. But what I want my heart to be about in this season has nothing to do with a lot of that, and I feel like being halfway around the world again this Christmas is another opportunity for my heart to learn to focus on the real meaning of the season.
Sure there will be an opportunity for books…
And toys…
and even a little sparkle and twinkle…
But as I was reading in Exodus yesterday and today, I was reminded of what really distinguishes the people of God as the people of God: His presence. We celebrate Christmas because Christ has come. And we celebrate the fact that because He has come, He is present with us, dwelling in our hearts, directing our steps, and changing the world through us.
In Exodus 33, Moses was kind of at his wit’s end. He was up on Mt. Sinai for forty days receiving the commands of God, and the people got sort of “impatient” waiting for him…and then things got ‘rowdy’ and ridiculously out of hand. They’d basically decided “Forget Moses…he’s been gone a long time and who knows what happened to him? Let’s find a new god to worship, and have some fun!” Moses and the Lord had a long chat about this unfortunate situation, and God decided He would still give the people the land He promised them, but He wasn’t going to be with them when they went to inherit it. I think He was so mad He thought He’d just wipe them off the face of the earth if He spent any more time with them.
Moses was distraught. He said to the Lord, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.” The Lord had given other people groups land. The Lord had blessed other people groups with promises. But the covenant sign that Moses was seeking was the mark of God’s presence in the lives of His people. If You aren’t going with us… I don’t wanna go!
Moses found grace in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord promised to go with them. And as the story continues into Exodus 34, we find that the being in the presence of God is so unmistakably incredible that when Moses returns to talk to the people, after speaking with God, his face and skin shines so much they have to put a veil over him. There is beautiful, changing power when we get into the presence of God.
So this Christmas, I am looking forward to the things that make my heart a little happier and my step a little lighter, but more than that, I want to celebrate Emmanuel — the God with us, who came to this Earth so that we, like Moses, could find grace in the presence of God, and be transformed. Tis the Season for a lot of things…but for His Presence most of all!
Nov 26, 2009 | Baby Photos, South Africa, Stories
Ya know, it might be a little hard to celebrate Thanksgiving in the southern hemisphere at the moment. I don’t know where to find cranberry in a can or canned pumpkin for pumpkin pie or that special topping everybody seems to use for green bean casserole. And I definitely don’t have any Jiffy Cornbread mix or Nestle Toll House chocolate chips. And, honestly, no matter what it doesn’t feel like Thanksgiving without the following:
My Mom’s sweet potato casserole, my brother scraping most of said sweet potato casserole topping onto his plate, a football game on TV, that sleepy post-turkey-triptophan feeling, and for the past few Thanksgivings I’ve been back in the States to enjoy, stepping in a wee pond of my brother’s dog’s drool as he lies on the kitchen floor with those pitiful big brown eyes and that look of — are you really gonna eat all that and give me dog food?
While it’s tough to be away from home at these times of year, and though my Thanksgiving lunch was a (surprisingly tasty) toasted bacon, egg and cheese sammie (sandwich) at a nearby coffee shop that boasts free wifi, I’m still giving thanks down here in South Africa. And here are just a few of the many many things I’m thankful for at the moment.
Of course I’m gonna say this guy. I am so thankful for him, and his wonderful wonderful Daddy! Love you my delightful boys!
And I’m thankful for enjoying my own football game today. Complete with a star player in a very special t-shirt. A little different from the games you might be watching if you’re in the US…
My sister is expecting and I’m really thankful for this new little one on his or her way into the world. You’re gonna have great parentals, kiddo!!
I’m thankful for our new home here in SA. Here’s Harold, our friendly but perhaps a little dangerous neighbourhood seal, doing tricks with a fish! It’s a show we enjoy from our balcony! Our evening Thanksgiving meal will be boerewors with potatoes and butternut squash, grilled on the braai on said balcony!
There’s a lot more I am very thankful for…my great family in good health back in the US, so many good friends around the world, friends very dear to me getting married soon, and a list of other things that goes on and on, I have limited this post to a few that are easily illustrated! And while I might have tonsilitis and be far away from home, I still have so much to give thanks for this Thanksgiving. We are in a great place, and we’re where we’re supposed to be. And living life inside the will of God is a wonderful thing to give thanks for, any day of the year.
Happy Thanksgiving friends near and far! Don’t forget to give thanks!
Nov 20, 2009 | Baby Photos, The Good Word
I was mulling over some verses in Proverbs 4 this morning, and while I’m not sure I have anything profound to say, I just thought I would share.
Wisdom is the principle thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she will promote you. She will bring you honor when you embrace her. (Proverbs 4: 7 & 8 )
I like to think about what it means to look for wisdom. When I think I’ve come across something wise, like, when someone says “I think I should probably do this, or not do that” I often find myself saying “Hmm, that’s good… that sounds wise.” And afterwards wondering… did that sound like a weird thing to say? I like wisdom! I like hearing it! But seriously, there is such a huge emphasis in Scripture on the significance of seeking and desiring wisdom. And it’s interesting to me because we have more information at our fingertips than any previous generation in history…but are we any wiser for it? If I listen to the news or watch TV, I’m pretty convinced that while we’re oozing with information, I’m not sure our wisdom bucket overfloweth as a result.
As I asked the Lord about getting wisdom this morning, I was reminded of two things:
- The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This reminds me a lot of yesterday’s post…deciding to depart from evil because we fear the Lord, and we don’t think more highly of our own wisdom than we ought to. (If the Lord blesses me with more understanding of the fear of the Lord, which I intend to study up on, hopefully I can come back to you with a series of posts about it, because I don’t think one or two is going to cover it!) And,
- I was reminded of this interesting section of Psalm 119 that used to get me really excited when I was studying at university:
Oh, how I love your law!
It is my meditation all the day.
You, through You commandments, make me wiser than my enemies;
For they are ever with me.
I have more understanding than all my teachers,
For your testimonies are my meditation.
I understand more than the ancients,
Because I keep your precepts. (Psalm 119: 97 – 100)
(Me: Wiser than my teachers? Sign me up!) It seems like the way we are instructed to get wisdom is simple: meditate on God’s Word, His Law, the testimonies of His goodness recorded in Scripture, and then do what His word says. Put into practice the things that you are learning. If you’re learning to ride a bike, someone might take the time to sit down with you and explain the reason the bicycle works…how the pedals push the gears and the gears move the wheels and the steering wheel directs and the brakes slow you down… but eventually, you’re gonna have to put that knowledge into practice to fully understand riding a bike.
In the same way, the wisdom that comes from God is best understood when we study it, think about it, and then live it out. I think that’s why just a bit later in Proverbs 4 it says, “Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established.” (v. 26) If we move forward thoughtfully and purposefully, considering the teaching of the Lord and His wisdom, He promises to make our paths straight. I suppose there are some questions Google is never going to answer for us. The wisdom, and knowledge and understanding that will set us on the right path come from the Lord. If wisdom’s what you’re chasing after, what you’re pondering, and what you’re doing, expect the goodness of God to meet you.
I saw a great quote on this great blog yesterday that I think might be an encouraging closing:
You learn to speak by speaking,
to study by studying,
to run by running,
to work by working;
and just so, you learn to love by loving.
All those who think to learn in any other way deceive themselves.
– Saint Francis de Sales
If you are looking for wisdom today, I hope it finds you.
Nov 12, 2009 | Baby Photos, Stories
Hey guys and gals, sorry all’s been quiet on the blogging front for a few days. I’ve still been wrestling with a bit of ill health — secondary infection from what I discovered was actually the flu last week — but I’ve also been wrestling with a bit of a bad attitude, which made me decide it might be best to hush for a bit! We visited another church this past Sunday, and a lot was positive about the experience. It was really great to praise the Lord there, but some little ‘niggles’ kind of came my way and in the end the experience was rather spoilt. When you give place to offense, well Mr. Offense sure will take the place!
So anyway, I wrote a big long post discussing all my absolutely ingenious opinions about how Church could and should be better. Seriously, I basically solved all the world’s problems in one blog post. Then decided, hmm. Let’s let that one go. One must not think more highly of oneself (or one’s opinion) that one ought. Learning that in Job at the moment. If I’m honest I think I have a rather rotten attitude coming out of this blog post, and I don’t want to pass that along! Smiles and giggles and good cheer can be contagious, and so can nitpicking, bad attitudes and the general grump-grumps! Since I don’t want to infect you, dear reader, with a case of the general grump-grumps, I would rather just hush, or else simply say God is good! He is good, and we are trusting Him to direct our steps. And He is sovereign, and He is in control, and I don’t need to take on more of the world’s problems than He has assigned to me.
And, funny enough, after all our adventures, we are feeling His direction to settle down right where we started at the beginning, at the Every Nation Church in Somerset West. We have since discovered most churches don’t seem to have nurseries for kids under two, and that we are probably going to have to drive a wee ways to get to where we ought to be on a Sunday morning anyway, and that’s okay. Above all, we’re listening for the leading of the Lord, and His direction is our opportunity to obey!  I am really excited about heading there again this Sunday.
PLUS, as soon as I get pictures together, I will tell you the delightful tale of how my dashing husband attempted to rescue a baby bird from the clutches of death! I hope tomorrow. In the meantime, I shall share a picture that will hopefully be smilingly contagious, of our Bear as an ice-cream Sunday. And once I have some encouraging things to say, they’ll be on their way to you!
Nov 6, 2009 | Baby Photos
Hi Moms & Dads on both sides of the pond ! (and everyone else who loves our Bear)…
We thought you might enjoy a few shots of your favourite (for now, only) grandchild. We were on the beach outside our place the other day with our camera, and he was more than willing to be an adorable subject…as usual! So here’s our Bear on the Beach… enjoy!  We love and miss you!
He’s not so afraid of the sand anymore…
And he is no longer afraid to take off in his own direction at warp speed, either!
Lots of love from us in the southern sun! More to come soon!
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